Over the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard a lot of big, slightly overwhelming phrases:
- “AI Overviews.”
- “Zero-click searches.”
- “Brand entities.”
You might have even read a headline or two about how tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and DeepSeek are changing the way people search.
But here’s the part most small business owners aren’t hearing clearly enough:
There’s a smarter, faster way to boost your visibility in AI search — and it’s called LLM seeding.
If you want AI tools to not only see your business but actually recommend it when someone asks, “Who’s the best [your service] in [your city]?”, this strategy is for you.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- What LLM seeding is (in plain language)
- How large language models (LLMs) actually “learn” about your business
- The key places you need to show up so AI can find and cite you
- Practical, small-business-friendly ways to start LLM seeding today
Let’s help AI find your biz — on purpose.
What Is LLM Seeding?
Let’s start with the basics.
- SEO helps you show up on Google.
- LLM seeding helps you show up in AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and others.
When someone asks:
“Who’s the best pet groomer in Colorado Springs?”
Google’s AI or a standalone LLM isn’t just pulling up a ranked list of websites and picking the top result. It’s:
- Pulling from what it’s already “learned” from crawling and training on the web
- Looking at which businesses are mentioned in trusted places
- Connecting those mentions with services, locations, and reviews
- Assembling an answer that sounds human and helpful
LLM seeding is the deliberate process of planting your business in those “trusted places” — so when AI goes looking for examples, your brand is already in the mix.
Think of it as strategic visibility planting for the AI era.
How Does LLM Seeding Work?
Large language models (LLMs) are trained by “reading” enormous amounts of text from the internet and other data sources. They don’t browse websites one at a time like we do; they process patterns:
- Which names and brands appear next to which services?
- Which businesses are consistently associated with certain locations?
- What questions are being asked — and which sites answer them well?
- Who’s being mentioned in lists, guides, FAQs, and forums?
When you practice LLM seeding, you’re essentially:
Planting structured, trustworthy, repeated mentions of your business across the web, in formats AI is most likely to understand and reuse.
The more often AI sees:
- Your business name
- Connected to your services
- In your location
- In a helpful, credible context
…the more likely it is to surface you when someone asks for recommendations in your area or industry.
It’s like scattering seeds around the internet — only these seeds are profiles, FAQs, articles, lists, and mentions that tell AI, “This is a real, reliable business in [your space].”
How to Get Cited by LLMs: The Places AI Scans Most
AI tools don’t treat every webpage equally. They heavily favor structured, helpful, and widely trusted sources.
Here are four key areas you can focus on to increase your chances of being cited and recommended.
1. FAQs & Knowledge Bases: Answer the Questions AI Is Asked
LLMs are built to answer questions. That’s their entire job.
When your website has clear FAQs, service explanations, and knowledge-base-style content, AI has an easier time connecting:
- The question (e.g., “How often should I groom my golden retriever?”)
- The answer (your helpful, detailed explanation)
- The provider (you — the pet groomer in Colorado Springs)
Where to Start
- Add an FAQ section to each core service page.
- Create a central FAQ hub that addresses your most common customer questions.
- Write in complete, conversational sentences AI can reuse, such as:
- “At [Business Name], we recommend grooming golden retrievers every 6–8 weeks to maintain coat health and reduce shedding.”
This kind of content helps both humans and AI understand exactly what you do — and when to bring you into the conversation.
2. Reputable Publications: Build Credibility That AI Can See
Mentions in online magazines, industry blogs, news articles, or thought-leadership pieces act like credibility stamps.
They tell both people and AI: “This business is worth talking about.”
LLMs are more likely to trust information that comes from authoritative domains and editorially reviewed content, especially when it reinforces the same message they’ve seen on your own website and profiles.
Practical Ways to Show Up Here
- Pitch a guest article to a niche or local publication.
- Offer expert quotes to journalists or bloggers through platforms like HARO/Help a Reporter Out or other media request services.
- Collaborate on case studies or success stories with partners or vendors.
- Say “yes” to local media features (podcasts, online magazines, city blogs).
Every time your business is mentioned — with your name, your location, and your services — you’re reinforcing your brand entity in sources AI respects.
3. “Best Of” Lists & Comparison Guides: Be the Obvious Recommendation
AI tools love lists and roundups.
When someone asks: “Who are the top wedding photographers in Colorado Springs?”
LLMs often draw from:
- “Best wedding photographers in Colorado Springs” blog posts
- “Top 10” lists on local publications or niche sites
- Comparison guides that break down options by style, price, or specialty
These pieces are pre-structured recommendations, which makes them extremely attractive for AI to scan and reuse.
How to Get Included
- Identify relevant “best of” or “top” lists in your industry and region.
- Reach out to the authors or sites with a polite, professional pitch:
- Introduce your business
- Share why you’re a fit
- Provide helpful context (portfolio, reviews, awards, case studies)
- Look for opportunities with:
- Local blogs and news sites
- Industry-specific directories and magazines
- Chamber or tourism websites
You’re not just chasing vanity placements — you’re strategically positioning your brand in places AI already sees as ready-made answers.
4. Forums & Community Spaces: Amplify Digital Word-of-Mouth
From Reddit threads to Facebook groups and niche forums, LLMs pay attention to real conversations.
If your business keeps popping up in:
- “Who do you recommend for…?” posts
- Personal reviews and stories
- Comment threads and Q&A discussions
…it functions like digital word-of-mouth that AI can pick up on.
Ways to Influence This (Without Being Spammy)
- Deliver such an exceptional experience that happy customers naturally mention you when others ask for recommendations.
- Make it easy for clients to share their experience:
- Follow up with a thank-you email
- Include a “If you’re part of any local groups, we’d be honored if you’d recommend us when it’s helpful” note
- Participate thoughtfully in relevant online communities as a real human, not a billboard — answering questions, offering advice, and only mentioning your business where appropriate and allowed.
AI doesn’t just read what you say about your brand. It also reads what others say — and that matters.
LLM Seeding vs. Traditional SEO: How They Work Together
It’s important to say this clearly:
LLM seeding doesn’t replace SEO. It builds on it.
You still need:
- A technically sound website
- Strong on-page SEO
- Helpful, organized content
- Local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization
- Reviews and reputation management
What LLM seeding does is help you extend that foundation into the AI layer:
- SEO helps you rank on Google and show up in organic results.
- LLM seeding helps your brand appear in AI summaries, recommendations, and conversational answers, even when users never see the traditional results page.
Both matter. Together, they create a future-ready visibility strategy.
FAQs: LLM Seeding and AI Search for Small Businesses
1. Is LLM seeding only for big brands?
No — LLM seeding is actually a huge opportunity for small, local businesses.
Because many larger brands are slower to adapt, small businesses that intentionally show up in FAQs, lists, and local publications can gain outsized visibility in AI tools, especially for niche or location-specific queries.
2. How is LLM seeding different from regular link building?
Traditional link building focuses on getting backlinks to improve rankings.
LLM seeding focuses on getting mentions and context in places AI tools are likely to read and learn from — even if there’s no direct “SEO link juice” attached. The priority is being seen and understood, not just boosting authority scores.
3. How long does it take to see results from LLM seeding?
LLM seeding is a medium- to long-term play, similar to SEO.
As your mentions, FAQs, and placements grow, AI tools will gradually “see” you more often. Results may start as subtle — for example, your brand showing up in test prompts — and eventually lead to more visible referrals and recommendations as AI adoption increases.
4. Can I measure traffic that comes from AI recommendations?
Sometimes, yes.
You can track referral traffic from certain AI tools (like ChatGPT or Perplexity) in Google Analytics, and you can spot patterns like rising branded searches or customers saying, “I found you on ChatGPT.” While you won’t catch every AI-driven visit, you can absolutely gather meaningful clues.
5. What types of businesses benefit the most from LLM seeding?
Any business that relies on recommendations, reviews, or local visibility can benefit — think home services, healthcare, legal, hospitality, weddings, coaching, and more. If people ask, “Who do you recommend for…?”, LLM seeding is relevant to you.
6. Do I need to be on every AI platform?
No.
You don’t have to chase every tool individually. LLM seeding is less about signing up for accounts everywhere and more about showing up in the underlying ecosystem — your website, directories, publications, forums, and structured content that many tools reference.
7. Is this something I can DIY, or do I need an agency
You can absolutely start some pieces on your own — like improving your FAQs or asking for more reviews.
But a strategic LLM seeding plan (prioritizing the right publications, lists, and entities) is where an experienced SEO team can save you a lot of time and guesswork, especially if you’re already juggling everything else in your business.
Get Found in AI Search With LLM Seeding
AI isn’t a someday thing anymore. Your customers are already using it to:
- Ask for local recommendations
- Compare service providers
- Understand options and pricing
- Decide who they trust enough to contact
The brands that show up in those AI-powered answers aren’t there by accident. They’ve built strong entities, helpful content, and credible mentions — whether they knew to call it “LLM seeding” or not.
At Succeeding Small, we help small businesses:
- Map where AI is most likely to discover them
- Create FAQs and content designed for both people and AI
- Earn credible mentions in the right directories, articles, and lists
- Build a long-term strategy that connects SEO, entities, and LLM visibility
Your dream customer is out there, typing their next question into an AI tool.
Let’s make sure your business is one of the names it recommends. Contact us today and we’ll map out an LLM seeding strategy tailored to your business, your market, and your goals.
